Sand 9

Sand 9 is a fabless Micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[1][2][3][4] Sand 9 developed a piezoelectric MEMS resonator to serve as an alternative for quartz timing devices in applications such as smart phones, low-power wireless devices, and communications infrastructure equipment.[5][6][7]

Sand 9
Private
FoundedCambridge, Massachusetts (2007 (2007))
FounderPritiraj Mohanty, Matt Crowley
Headquarters
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Key people
  • Pritiraj Mohanty (co-founder)
  • Matt Crowley (co-founder)
  • Vincent Graziani (CEO, president)
Websitewww.sand9.com

Sand 9 was co-founded by Pritiraj Mohanty and Matt Crowley in 2007.[1] Vincent Graziani is the CEO.[4][8]

History

Pritiraj Mohanty, a Boston University physicist, and Matt Crowley, former director of Boston University's technology development fund, co-founded Sand 9 in 2007.[1] The company aimed to produce timing products with a better price-to-performance ratio than quartz in core markets.[1]

Sand 9 introduced their first two products, TM061 and TM361, on September 3, 2013.[9] TM061 and TM361 are precision MEMS timing products for the Internet of Things and mobile devices.[9][10][11] On November 18, 2013, the TM651 was introduced for communications infrastructure, industrial and military applications.[9][10] According to EE Times, a trade publication, the TM651 is the first high-precision temperature compensated MEMS oscillator (TCMO) to meet the noise and stability demands of communication, industrial and military applications.[10][12] TM061 started sampling to lead customers in November and the TM361 in December 2013.[13]

GLOBALFOUNDRIES, a semiconductor foundry, is Sand 9's foundry partner.[4] GLOBALFOUNDRIES produces approximately one thousand 200 mm wafers per month.[4]

Funding

Flybridge Capital led Sand 9's series A funding round in 2008.[8] Their Series B funding raised $12 million and was reported in May 2010.[14] In June 2012, Sand 9 raised $23 million in its series C funding round, led by Intel with participation from Vulcan capital[15] and Analog Devices. Ericsson contributed $3 million in September 2012.[8]

Piezoelectric Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS)

Sand 9 developed its piezoelectric MEMS resonator technology as an alternative to quartz timing devices.[16] Sand 9 uses aluminum nitride, a thin film that is deposited using standard semiconductor/MEMS fabrication technology, for the piezoelectric layer. The silicon MEMS products are smaller than comparable quartz devices and currently operate at fundamental frequencies up to 125 MHz.[4] Silicon-based MEMS products can simplify system design, reduce part counts, simplify the supply chain, and improve manufacturing yields when compared to quartz.[4] Sand 9 MEMS products can be co-packaged and overmolded with standard semiconductor ICs to eliminate the need for external timing.

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References
  1. R. Colin Johnson (2014-03-09). "Sand 9 MEMS Cracks Cellphone Market". EE Times. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  2. "MEMS Revenue to Climb a Healthy 8 Percent This Year". IHS Technology. June 2, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  3. Barb Darrow (August 5, 2012). "Top 10 Phat Startups of 2012". Gigaom. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  4. Paul Werbaneth (2013-12-17). "Catching up with Sand 9 at the MEMS Executive Congress 2013". 3D In Cities. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  5. Kyle Alspach (March 9, 2013). "Sand 9 plans Q4 commercial launch, $150M in revenue by 2017". Boston Business Journal. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  6. John Williamson (July 5, 2011). "An Overview of MEMS Based Timing Devices". MEMS Journal. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  7. John Cook (2012-06-19). "Paul Allen and Intel Capital bankroll Sand 9 to reduce dropped calls on cell phones". GeekWire. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  8. Kyle Alspach (2012-11-26). "Sand 9 aims to disrupt $4B timing market in 2013, with better mobile devices a goal". Boston Business Journal. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  9. Steve Taranovich (2013-11-25). "Sand9: The stealth MEMS timing startup". EDN Network. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  10. Tony Massimini (2013-11-20). "Sand9 Rolling Out MEMS Timing Solutions". Semico. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  11. "Sand 9 launches new MEMS timing products". Solid State Technology. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  12. R. Colin Johnson (2013-11-26). "Sand 9 TM651 Is First High-Precision MEMS Oscillator". EE Times. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  13. Graham Pitcher (March 9, 2013). "MEMS developer looks to oust quartz crystals from range of applications". New Electronics. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  14. Erin Kutz (2010-06-24). "Massachusetts Startups Pull in $186M in May; Life Sciences Companies Take the Top Five Deals". Xconomy. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  15. "Intel Capital leads Sand 9 funding round, joins Board". Solid State Technology. 2012-06-19. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  16. "Piezoelectric MEMS Oscillators: Comparison to Quartz Crystals and Capacitive MEMS Solutions". MEMS Journal. May 7, 2012. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
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